20 y.o.man who slaughtered both grandparents & uncle,using bat,gun,& fire,is found guilty,in OH
Joe1orbit
There is something about family massacres that really excites and pleases me,
Especially when we have a YOUNGER member of the family slaughtering his/her
elders. Over in Ohio yesterday, 20 year old Antonio Franklin was found guilty
of slaughtering BOTH of his grandparents, as well as an uncle, back in April of
1997. He beat and bludgeoned all three victims with a BAT, as well as another
object, but only SHOT one of the three, his grandma, to death. I wonder whether
chose to shoot only her, because he felt less rage & hate towards her & didn't
want her to suffer as much as the two males? He apparently viciously beat but
did NOT actually kill his grandpa & uncle. Instead, after delivering this
vicious beating, he set the house on fire and the 2 men died as a result of the
fire/smoke. The grandma was apparently already dead, of a gunshot, by the time
Antonio set the fire. He was ONLY 19, and possibly even as young as 18 when he
undertook this impressive triple family murder rampage last year. After
committing this triple murder, Antonio fled the scene, making it all the way to
TN. He was arrested as he sat in a park, in TN, days after the massacre.
At trial, Antonio pled Not Guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyer told the
jury that Antonio suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. No word on whether
psychiatrists or psychologists testified for the defense, but in all likelihood
they did. The brainwashed and societally upstanding jurors simply decided that
they have the right to impose punitive punishment upon Antonio, based upon the
orders given to them by their society. And so the insanity defense was
rejected.
The sentencing phase of this trial gets underway Monday, and jurors DO have
the ability to impose a legal murder, via the death penalty, upon Antonio. I
certainly hope that does not occur. The best that Antonio can reasonably hope
for, unfortunately, is a 20 year to Life prison term. Twenty years wouldn't be
so bad, for successfully harvesting three humans, but I'm afraid it's VERY
unlikely that Antonio will get less that a Life prison sentence.
In court yesterday, as the guilty verdict was being read, Antonio just turned
around to face his relatives and SMILED. Cool. No point in getting angry or
sad. Antonio is wise to simply go with the flow and not let his society upset
him in any way.
He, would you like to view a VERY clear color photo of Antonio in court,
dressed very nicely in a suit and tie, rolling his eyes and entire face up
towards the ceiling?? It's a VERY cool photo, and you can gaze upon our newly
convicted triple murderer by pointing your web browser to:
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/
But do not delay, this web page is updated every 24 hours. Best be quick if
you desire to eyeball Antonio.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Associated Press news wire:
Man convicted of killing uncle and grandparents
August 21, 1998
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A jury on Friday convicted a man of killing his uncle and
grandparents and setting their house on fire.
Antonio Franklin, 20, of Dayton smiled at his relatives as Montgomery County
Common Pleas Judge James Gilvary read the guilty verdicts.
Franklin pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, arguing that he had been
hearing voices and was in an insane rage. His attorneys said he is a paranoid
schizophrenic.
Franklin's uncle, Anthony Franklin, and his grandparents, Ivory and Ophelia
Franklin, were struck with a bat on April 18, 1997. The two men also were
struck with another object and died in a fire set at the house that morning.
Mrs. Franklin was bludgeoned and shot once in the head.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin Monday. Franklin could face the
death penalty.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/22/98 opnline edition of The Dayton
Daily News newspaper:
Aug 22, 1998
Franklin guilty, faces death penalty
By Rob Modic
DAYTON DAILY NEWS
Antonio Sanchez Franklin smiled at his relatives Friday as a judge read
verdicts of guilty on all charges against him in the slayings of his uncle and
grandparents and the torching of their home.
Judge James J. Gilvary ordered the jury to return Monday morning to begin a
hearing on whether Franklin, 20, should be executed for the three murders.
A jury of six men and six women deliberated for about eight hours over two days
before reaching the verdict.
The verdict included two different charges of aggravated murder for each of the
three victims, seven aggravated arson charges, two counts of aggravated robbery
and two dozen specifications, each of which could lead to Franklin's execution.
Anthony Franklin, Antonio's uncle, and Antonio's grandparents, Ivory and
Ophelia Franklin, were struck with a bat in an early-morning assault on April
18, 1997. The two men were also struck with another object and died in a fire
set at the house that morning. Ophelia Franklin was bludgeoned and shot once in
the head.
The same jury will be asked to weigh any mitigating facts--such as Franklin's
relative youth--offsetting the aggravated circumstances of the killings, and
then recommend to Gilvary sentences that range from death for each killing to
20 years-to-life in prison. Gilvary will make the final decision on the
sentencing.
Dayton homicide detective Doyle Burke said the case was difficult because there
were so many victims, the evidence was damaged by a fire set at the house after
the slayings and Franklin fled to Nashville, where police questioned him as he
sat in a park and then arrested him when he fled.
"The hard part was putting it into an understandable format," Burke said.
Defense attorneys Lawrence Henke III and John Cumming objected Friday to
remarks assistant county prosecutor David Franceschelli made Thursday during
his dramatic closing argument. Franceschelli suggested the defense had planted
evidence to make it look as if the fire in the Franklins' home at 39 Riegel St.
had been an accident.
Judge Gilvary said he agreed that Franceschelli's remark had been
"inappropriate." But he rejected the defense contention that he should have
instructed the jury to ignore Franceschelli's remarks.
Franceschelli told Gilvary his statements were supported by evidence produced
during the two-week trial.